Some things will always be a mystery. It will always be a mystery how Otto Kuhnle woke up one day and thought a show about his life in Berlin, interspersed with not quite magic tricks involving newspapers and plastic bags could constitute entertainment. It follows then that it is a mystery how his show has gone on to entertain many an audience and even win awards.
Consider Kuhnle a jack-of-all trades with the confidence of a master. He can yodel, he can play flute, he can play the accordion, he can dress up as an angel and throw towels at his audience. He does these things well but surprisingly it was none of these things that won him his award last year at the Fringe, nor are they why he won an award in Berlin. What did involves ping pong balls and surprisingly it really was the giggle-inducing highlight of the show.
He certainly has the over the top cabaret style nailed, almost as if he knows his jokes are rubbish, like his props (his props are actually bits of rubbish). However, Kuhnle is proof that air punching, toothy grins and a raise of the eyebrows means no audience can resist, apparently. The jokes may not deserve a laugh but they do get gimmicky cheers for their unashamedly gimmicky style.
I wonder if balancing gnomes on tight ropes and making ripped up newspapers fly are harder tricks than they look. They must be, otherwise we’d all be making a show out of it, surely. At moments he has the audience enthralled, thoroughly entertained by tricks that are, admittedly, quite fun. Yet, in other moments, he splits the audience, half guffawing, the other half scratching their heads. How has this qualified as real entertainment? I guess some things will remain a mystery.
